Firearm sound suppressor with peripheral venting

Abstract

An apparatus and methods are provided for a suppressor to be coupled with a muzzle end of a barrel of a firearm to reduce muzzle blast and muzzle flash. The suppressor comprises a housing having a proximal end and a distal end. A front portion within the housing comprises a series of cylindrical gas expansion chambers for attenuating the temperature and energy of propellant gases accompanying a projectile fired from the firearm. An annular gas expansion chamber surrounds the cylindrical gas expansion chambers and directs a portion of the propellant gases from a rear portion of the suppressor to peripheral vents disposed at the distal end. Lateral chambers within the rear portion deflect and rebound a portion of the propellant gases before passing them into the annular gas expansion chamber. Ledges within the annular gas expansion chamber direct the propellant gases distally through suppressor toward the peripheral vents.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for developing proposed suppressors that couple with firearms to reduce muzzle blast and muzzle flash from actual firing, comprising:
 identifying causes of the muzzle flash;   categorizing types of muzzle flash exhibited by a suppressor;   developing a model of flash behavior;
 wherein developing the model further includes developing a computation fluid dynamics-based predictive model by comparing composite and time-average imagery with flash photography of the suppressor; and comparing empirically collected data to simulated data from the computation fluid dynamics-based predictive model for the suppressor to create an algorithm that produces predicted flash performance; and 
   applying the model to a proposed suppressor by inputting simulation results from the computation fluid dynamics-based predictive model for the proposed suppressor into the algorithm to produce predicted flash performance for the proposed suppressor without actual firing the firearms.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein identifying the causes of the muzzle flash includes identifying a combination of primary combustion, secondary combustion, and tertiary combustion as driving flash performance of the suppressor. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein categorizing the types of muzzle flash includes demonstrating suppressor flash performance as comprising any one of first-round flash, steady-state flash, and high-temperature flash. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein developing the model includes dividing a flash plume into a plume component and a hot spot component to generate a prediction of steady-state flash performance of the suppressor. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein applying the model includes applying a formula that relates Mach Threshold as a function of distance from the suppressor to the proposed suppressor configurations to predict flash performance. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein developing the model includes collecting empirical data pertaining to suppressor flash performance. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein collecting includes taking a time lapse image of a flash plume for a first round fired through the suppressor in a cold state. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein collecting includes posterizing the time lapse image in an image processing software and creating two or more levels of plume intensity at even intervals of distance. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein collecting includes subjecting the time lapse image to a computation fluid dynamics-based simulation using conditions derived from a model of combustion. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein subjecting includes time-averaging the simulation to create images of any one or more of dRho, temperature, and Mach Number. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein collecting includes using the simulation to derive a y-axis width at each x-value for each region of similar Mach Number. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein developing the model includes applying the simulation to the time lapse image of the flash plume to derive the Mach Number that corresponds to the width of the visible plume as a function of distance from the suppressor. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein applying the simulation includes obtaining a resultant data set comprising the Mach Number from the simulation that corresponds to the actual visible plume boundary as a function of distance from the suppressor. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein developing the model includes using the resultant data set to determine a formula that expresses Mach Threshold as a function of distance from the suppressor. 
     
     
         15 . A method for developing a proposed suppressor that couples with a firearm to reduce muzzle blast and muzzle flash from actual firing, comprising:
 collecting empirical data pertaining to existing suppressor flash performance;   developing a model of the existing suppressor flash performance;
 wherein developing the model further includes developing a computation fluid dynamics-based predictive model by comparing composite and time-average imagery with flash photography of the existing suppressor; and 
   comparing empirically collected data to simulated data from the computation fluid dynamics-based predictive model for the existing suppressor to derive a formula that expresses Mach Threshold as a function of distance from the existing suppressor;   applying the model to the proposed suppressor to predicted suppressor flash performance;   altering the configuration of the proposed suppressor to minimize the predicted suppressor flash performance without actual firing the firearm; and   assembling the actual proposed suppressor having a minimized predicted suppressor flash performance based on the alteration.